Cash processing device and cash processing method

Technical field

The present invention relates to a cash processing device and a cash processing method.

Background art

Cash processing devices typified by cash processing devices for counter are installed in counters of branches of financial institutions and the like. Such cash processing devices are used in deposit processes, withdrawal processes of bills and coins, and the like. A bank teller performs manipulations of a cash processing device from, for example, a manipulation unit thereof, or from a reception terminal connected to the cash processing device, and thus can perform a deposit process by inputting bills into a cash inlet of the cash processing device. Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses such a cash processing device. CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP 2013-117899A SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

There is a limit on the number of bills that can be input into a cash inlet at one time in the cash processing device. In addition, the cash inlet is generally closed until bills input into the cash inlet are transported to a bill storage unit in the inside of the device. For this reason, in order to deposit a number of bills exceeding the number of bills that can be input into the cash inlet one time, it is considered that an additional inputs of bills into the cash inlet are repeated at timings at which the cash inlet is opened according to the end of the transport of the bills to the bill storage unit. In the method of the additional input, however, there is a concern that the time taken to perform a deposit process on cash such as bills is lengthened.

Therefore, the present invention takes the above-described problem into account, and an object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved cash processing device and cash processing method capable of carrying out a deposit process of cash more efficiently. Solution to Problem

To solve the above described problem, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cash processing device including: a cash inlet having an opening and closing member; a temporary reserving unit configured to temporarily store cash; a storage unit configured to store cash; a transport unit configured to, in a deposit process, transport cash input into the cash inlet to the temporary reserving unit in a state in which the opening and closing member is closed, and transport cash stored in the temporary reserving unit to the storage unit; and a control unit configured to control a display of a selection screen for selecting a first deposit method of performing an input of cash at one time in one transaction or a second deposit method of performing inputs of cash over a plurality of times in one transaction, and to not instruct to open the opening and closing member when the first deposit method is selected and to instruct to open the opening and closing member when the second deposit method is selected, after transport of cash input into the cash inlet to the temporary reserving unit ends and before transport of the cash stored in the temporary reserving unit to the storage unit ends.

The control unit may control a display of the selection screen before a first input of cash into the cash inlet in one transaction.

The control unit may control a display of the selection screen after cash input into the cash inlet first in one transaction is transported to the temporary reserving unit.

In the second deposit method, the control unit may instruct to open the opening and closing member before an instruction to transport cash stored in the temporary reserving unit to the storage unit is issued.

In the second deposit method, the control unit may instruct to close the opening and closing member after transport of cash stored in the temporary reserving unit to the storage unit ends.

In second and succeeding inputs of cash in the second deposit method, when an input of cash into the cash inlet is sensed after an instruction to open the opening and closing member is issued, the control unit may instruct to close the opening and closing member based on the sensing.

The cash processing device may further include a cash outlet through which a client receives cash. In a withdrawal process, the transport unit may transport cash to the cash outlet from the storage unit and update balance-in-hand of the storage unit at a timing at which the cash is ejected from the storage unit.

When a jam occurs in the withdrawal process, the control unit may control a display of a screen indicating cash that has been transported to the cash outlet and cash remaining in the transport unit.

The control unit may control a display of a screen for selecting a timing at which the balance-in-hand of the storage unit is updated from a plurality of timings including a timing at which cash is ejected from the storage unit.

When a jam occurs during transport of cash from the cash inlet to the temporary reserving unit in the deposit process and cash remains in the cash inlet, the control unit may instruct to open the opening and closing member.

When a jam occurs during transport of cash from the cash inlet to the temporary reserving unit in the deposit process, the control unit may control a display of a screen indicating cash remaining in the transport unit.

The screen indicating the cash remaining in the transport unit may further indicate whether or not cash remains in the cash inlet.

To solve the above described problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cash processing method executed by a cash processing device which has a cash inlet having an opening and closing member, a temporary reserving unit configured to temporarily store cash, a storage unit configured to store cash, and a transport unit configured to, in a deposit process, transport cash input into the cash inlet to the temporary reserving unit in a state in which the opening and closing member is closed and transport cash stored in the temporary reserving unit to the storage unit, the cash processing method including: controlling a display of a selection screen for selecting a first deposit method of performing an input of cash at one time in one transaction or a second deposit method of performing inputs of cash over a plurality of times in one transaction; and issuing no instruction to open the opening and closing member when the first deposit method is selected, and instructing to open the opening and closing member when the second deposit method is selected, after transport of cash input into the cash inlet to the temporary reserving unit ends and before transport of cash stored in the temporary reserving unit to the storage unit ends. Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention described above, it is possible to efficiently perform a cash deposit process.

Brief description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an internal configuration example of a bill processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showing configuration examples of a cash inlet shutter and a cash outlet shutter.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing configuration examples of a cash inlet shutter and a cash outlet shutter.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a bill processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram showing an operation example of a normal deposit.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagram showing a specific example of a deposit method setting screen.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagram showing an operation example of a mass deposit.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagram showing an operation example of a mass deposit.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagram showing an operation example of a modified example of a mass deposit.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative diagram showing an operation example of a normal deposit.

FIG. 10 is an illustrative diagram showing a specific example of a deposit information/deposit selection screen.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative diagram showing an operation example of a mass deposit.

FIG. 12 is an illustrative diagram showing a specific example of a withdrawal setting screen.

FIG. 13 is an illustrative diagram showing a withdrawal process when a balance-in-hand update timing is set to be a bill discharge time.

FIG. 14 is an illustrative diagram showing a withdrawal process when a balance-in-hand update timing is set to be a bill ejection time.

FIG. 15 is an illustrative diagram showing a specific example of a withdrawn bill number screen.

FIG. 16 is an illustrative diagram showing a specific example of a setting screen for a shutter control in a deposit process.

FIG. 17 is an illustrative diagram showing a process performed when a shutter control in a deposit process is “open shutter.”

FIG. 18 is an illustrative diagram showing an example of a remaining bill information screen.

FIG. 19 is an illustrative diagram showing another example of a remaining bill information screen.

Description of embodiments

Hereinafter, referring to the appended drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. It should be noted that, in this specification and the appended drawings, structural elements that have substantially the same function and structure are denoted with the same reference numerals, and repeated explanation thereof is omitted.

Note that, in this specification and the drawings, structural elements that have substantially the same function and structure are sometimes distinguished from each other using different alphabets after the same reference numeral. However, when there is no need in particular to distinguish structural elements that have substantially the same function and structure, the same reference numeral alone is attached.

<1. Overview of Bill Processing Device>

(1-1. Internal Configuration Example of Bill Processing Device)

First, an internal configuration example of a bill processing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention that is an example of a cash processing device will be described with reference to FIG. 1 .

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the internal configuration example of the bill processing device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The bill processing device 10 is installed in a branch of a financial institution or the like. The bill processing device 10 is a staff-manipulation-type terminal for conducting transactions of bills based on manipulations performed by staff such as bank tellers of financial institutions who are manipulators of the device.

The bill processing device 10 has a cash inlet 12 , a cash outlet 18 , a bill recognition unit 20 that is an example of a bill discriminating unit, a temporary reserving unit 22 that is an example of a temporary accumulation unit, a transport unit 24 , bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D that are examples of storage units, a bill cassette 35 with a reject storage, and a display unit 40 as shown in FIG. 1 .

The cash inlet 12 is an input port of bills for a staff to input bills thereinto. In addition, the cash inlet 12 has a separation function of separating bills that are input in a bundle one by one and ejecting them. Note that the cash inlet 12 is provided with a cash inlet shutter 13 as an example of an opening and closing member to open and close an opening as shown in FIG. 2 .

The cash outlet 18 is a dispensing port from which bills to be received by a staff are dispensed (withdrawn). The cash outlet 18 has an accumulation function of accumulating bills to be dispensed. The cash outlet 18 has a capacity at which 100 (the maximum accumulation number) bills can be accumulated as an example. Note that the cash outlet 18 is also provided with a cash outlet shutter 19 as an example of an opening and closing member to open and close an opening as shown in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 2 shows schematic diagrams showing configuration examples of the cash inlet shutter 13 and the cash outlet shutter 19 . In FIG. 2A , states in which the cash inlet shutter 13 and the cash outlet shutter 19 are closed are shown, and in FIG. 2B , states in which the cash inlet shutter 13 and the cash outlet shutter 19 are opened are shown. The cash inlet shutter 13 and the cash outlet shutter 19 move to close the cash inlet 12 and the cash outlet 18 . Note that, when bills are to be transported from the cash inlet 12 , the cash inlet shutter 13 is closed, and when bills are to be transported to the cash outlet 18 , the cash outlet shutter 19 is closed. Note that, although, as an example, planar shutters are shown as the cash inlet shutter 13 and the cash outlet shutter 19 in FIG. 2 , the cash inlet shutter 13 and the cash outlet shutter 19 may be curved shutters.

The bill recognition unit 20 discriminates bills passed therethrough one by one. Bills bi-directionally advance, and thus the bill recognition unit 20 can discriminate bills transported from the direction of the cash inlet 12 side and bills transported from an opposite direction thereto. Specifically, the bill recognition unit 20 discriminates denominations, genuineness (a genuine bill or a counterfeit bill), normality or defectiveness (a normal bill or a defective bill), feeding states (a normal state or an abnormal state), and the like of the bills transported through the transport unit 24 , and makes a determination of normality or a determination of rejection on passed bills.

Here, in the present specification, the genuine bill refers to one discriminated as a bill, and the counterfeit bill refers to one that is not discriminated as a bill. In addition, the normal bill refers to one discriminated as being proper for deposit and withdrawal among bills discriminated as genuine bills, and the defective bill refers to a one discriminated as not being proper for deposit and withdrawal among the bills discriminated as the genuine bills. In addition, the determination of rejection is made based on factors such as the counterfeit bill, the defective bill (stained, damaged, having an abnormal outer shape, etc.), the abnormal feeding (a skewed bill, double feeding, etc.), or the like. In addition, rejected bills may include bills that are not treated as bills to be withdrawn (for example, a two-thousand-yen bill or a five-thousand-yen bill), or foreign bills.

The temporary reserving unit 22 has both functions of separation and accumulation of bills. For example, the temporary reserving unit 22 temporarily accumulates (stores) bills that are separated from the cash inlet 12 during a deposit process and discriminated as being normal by the bill recognition unit 20 . Bills that are accumulated in the temporary reserving unit 22 are ejected when transactions are concluded, such as when calculation of the deposited bills with respect to accounts or the like is confirmed, pass through the bill recognition unit 20 , and then are transported to the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D, and the like. Note that the temporary reserving unit 22 may adopt an accumulation type in which bills are sequentially piled up and accumulated, or a drum type in which bills are sequentially rolled up and stored.

The transport unit 24 includes a transport path, a transport roller that transports bills, and a driving mechanism that drives the transport roller to transport bills one by one. The driving mechanism drives the transport roller as, for example, a DC servo motor, a pulse motor, or the like rotates. The transport unit 24 is controlled by a control unit to be described below, and transports bills to a target transport destination.

The bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D are bill storage units in which bills can be stored according to denominations, the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D having both functions of accumulation and separation of bills. In addition, the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D may include a plurality of bill cassettes for the same denomination. For example, the bill cassettes 30 A and 30 C may be bill cassettes for ten-thousand-yen bills, and the bill cassettes 30 B and 30 D may be bill cassettes for one-thousand-yen bills. In addition, the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D are configured to be attachable to and detachable from the bill processing device 10 , and by unfixing an installed bill cassette 30 from the bill processing device 10 and installing a bill cassette 30 in which a sufficient amount of bills are stored in the bill processing device 10 , the bill processing device 10 can be loaded with the bills.

The bill cassette 35 with the reject storage (hereinafter referred to also as a bill cassette 35 ) is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the bill processing device 10 , and collection and replenishment of bills are possible by replacing an installed bill cassette 35 with another bill cassette 35 . In addition, the bill cassette 35 is provided with a bill storage 36 on its upper side and a reject storage 37 on its lower side (the bottom).

The bill storage 36 has an accumulation function of accumulating bills and a separation function of ejecting bills one by one. In addition, the bill storage 36 can accumulate bills separated from each of the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D and can collect bills at the time of a cassette counting-type collection. In addition, the bill storage 36 can eject bills accumulated in the bill storage 36 and replenish the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D with the bills in a cassette counting-type replenishment.

The reject storage 37 has only an accumulation function of accumulating bills therein. The reject storage 37 is a bill storage unit for accumulating bills that are discriminated as being abnormal (rejected bills) by the bill recognition unit 20 (a determination of rejection).

The display unit 40 displays a menu screen or a processing result screen. The display unit 40 is realized by, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) device.

In addition, the bill processing device 10 has a manipulation unit (not illustrated) that can be manipulated by a staff. The bill processing device 10 performs deposit processes, withdrawal processes, and the like that correspond to transactions of deposit and withdrawal as a staff manipulates the manipulation unit. Note that the bill processing device 10 may perform processes based on manipulations by a staff on a reception terminal connected to the bill processing device 10 instead of the manipulation unit.

(1-2. Basic Processes of Bill Processing Device)

The internal configuration example of the bill processing device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 . Next, a deposit process, a withdrawal process, a replenishment process, and a collection process executed as basic process by the bill processing device 10 will be described.

(Deposit Process)

A deposit process is a process of accumulating bills input into the cash inlet 12 at the inside of the bill processing device 10 , and is broadly divided into a counting process and a storing process. In the counting process, first, bills input into the cash inlet 12 are separated and ejected one by one, and the ejected bills are transported to the bill recognition unit 20 by the transport unit 24 . Next, the bill recognition unit 20 discriminates the bills, and bills that are discriminated as being normal as a result of the discrimination are counted, transported to the temporary reserving unit 22 , and accumulated therein. Thereafter, if the amount of the deposit is confirmed, the process proceeds to the storing process.

On the other hand, bills that are discriminated as being abnormal (rejected bills) as a result of the discrimination by the bill recognition unit 20 are accumulated in the cash outlet 18 . The bills accumulated in the cash outlet 18 can undergo re-discrimination by the bill recognition unit 20 when a staff inputs the bills into the cash inlet 12 again.

In the storing process, first, bills are separated one by one from the temporary reserving unit 22 , and the separated bills are transported to the bill recognition unit 20 . Next, bills that are discriminated as being normal as a result of the discrimination by the bill recognition unit 20 are accumulated in the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D that correspond to their denominations. On the other hand, bills that are discriminated as being abnormal as a result of the discrimination by the bill recognition unit 20 like bills that cause feeding abnormality such as a stained bill, a folded bill, or a skewed bill, are accumulated in the reject storage 37 of the bill cassette 35 .

On the other hand, when an instruction to return (cancel a deposited bill is issued before confirmation of a deposit amount, the process transitions to a return process. In the return process, first, bills are separated one by one from the temporary reserving unit 22 , and the separated bills are transported to the bill recognition unit 20 . Then, all the bills are accumulated in the cash outlet 18 regardless of whether the result of the discrimination by the bill recognition unit 20 is normal or abnormal.

(Withdrawal Process)

A withdrawal process is a process of accumulating bills of the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D in the cash outlet 18 . In the withdrawal process, first, bills are separated one by one and ejected from the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D according to a designated amount, and the ejected bills are transported to the bill recognition unit 20 by the transport unit 24 . Next, the bill recognition unit 20 discriminates the bills, and bills that are discriminated as being normal as a result of the discrimination are accumulated in the cash outlet 18 . Specifically, bills are accumulated (collected) in the cash outlet 18 according to, for example, the denominations or the numbers of normal bills to be withdrawn. On the other hand, bills that are discriminated as being abnormal as a result of the discrimination, i.e., bills that are not suitable for being provided to clients, are accumulated in the reject storage 37 of the bill cassette 35 .

(Replenishment Process)

A replenishment process is a process of replenishing the bill processing device 10 with bills. As specific replenishing methods, a cash-inlet replenishment, a cassette replacement-type replenishment, and a cassette counting-type replenishment are possible in the bill processing device 10 . The respective replenishing methods will be described below.

The cash-inlet replenishment is similar to the operation of the deposit process described above. For example, bills that are ejected from the cash inlet 12 and discriminated as being normal as a result of discrimination by the bill recognition unit 20 are drawn out to the temporary reserving unit 22 and then accumulated in the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D according to their denominations. On the other hand, bills that are discriminated as being abnormal as a result of discrimination are accumulated in the cash outlet 18 .

The cassette replacement-type replenishment uses the attachable and detachable bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D to replace any of the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D that is installed in advance with a bill cassette that is loaded with bills in advance. Thereby, bills are replenished. Note that, in the cassette replacement-type replenishment, it is necessary for an operator to manually register the denominations and the number of replenished bills.

In the cassette counting-type replenishment, first, bills are loaded in the bill storage 36 of the bill cassette 35 in advance, and the bill cassette 35 is set in the bill processing device 10 . Next, bills that are ejected from the bill storage 36 and discriminated as being normal as a result of discrimination by the bill recognition unit 20 are accumulated in the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D that correspond to their denominations. On the other hand, bills that are discriminated as being abnormal as a result of the discrimination are accumulated in the reject storage 37 . Note that, since a counting process is executed by the bill recognition unit 20 in the cassette counting-type replenishment, it is not necessary for an operator to manually register the denominations and the number of replenished bills.

(Collection Process)

The collection process is a process of collecting bills that are in the bill processing device 10 . As specific collection methods, a cash-outlet collection, a cassette replacement-type collection, and a cassette counting-type collection are possible in the bill processing device 10 . The respective collection methods will be described below.

The cash-outlet collection is similar to the operation of the withdrawal process described above. For example, bills that are ejected from the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D that are collection objects and discriminated as being normal as a result of discrimination by the bill recognition unit 20 are accumulated in the cash outlet 18 . On the other hand, bills that are discriminated as being abnormal as a result of the discrimination are accumulated in the reject storage 37 . Then, performing discrimination with respect to all the bills accumulated in the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D that are collection objects, a staff can collect the bills that have been determined to be normal from the cash outlet 18 . In addition, the staff can collect the bills that have been determined to be abnormal from the reject storage 37 .

In the cassette replacement-type collection, bills are collected by unfixing a predetermined bill cassette among the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D from the bill processing device 10 . Note that, in the cassette replacement-type collection, it is necessary for an operator to take out bills from the unfixed bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D and to manually count the denominations and the number of the collected bills.

In the cassette counting-type collection, bills that are ejected from a bill cassette that is a collection object among the bill cassettes 30 A to 30 D and discriminated as being normal as a result of discrimination by the bill recognition unit 20 are accumulated in the bill storage 36 of the bill cassette 35 . On the other hand, bills that are discriminated as being abnormal as a result of the discrimination are accumulated in the reject storage 37 . Thereafter, a staff can collect the bills determined to be normal and the bills determined to be abnormal by unfixing only the bill cassette 35 from the bill processing device 10 . In addition, because a counting process is executed by the bill recognition unit 20 in the cassette counting-type collection, it is not necessary for an operator to manually count the denominations and the number of the collected bills.

(1-3. Background of Embodiment of Present Invention)

In a general bill processing device, it is not possible to additionally input bills into a cash inlet because a cash inlet shutter is closed during a deposit process. In addition, although rejected bills are accumulated in a cash outlet during a deposit process, it is not possible to take out the rejected bills during the deposit process. In other words, it is not possible to additionally input bills or to take out rejected bills until a counting process of a bill input into the cash inlet (included in the deposit process) is completed. For this reason, it takes a long period of time to deposit a large number of bills.

On the other hand, an additional input of bills into a cash inlet may be received during a storing process by opening the cash inlet shutter at all times after all bills deposited from the cash inlet are transported to the temporary reserving unit. According to this configuration, it is expected to shorten a time taken to deposit bills of which the number is equal to or greater than the number of bills that can be input into the cash inlet at one time.

However, in the method described above, since the cash inlet shutter is uniformly opened even when no additional input of a bill is performed, there is a concern that a foreign substance is introduced into the cash inlet due to unnecessary opening of the cash inlet shutter.

Therefore, the bill processing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention has been created focusing on the above circumstance. The bill processing device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention can realize efficiency of bill deposit processes and improvement in the problem of foreign substances being introduced into the cash inlet. A configuration and an operation of the bill processing device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be sequentially described in detail.

<2. Functional Configuration of Bill Processing Device>

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of the bill processing device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3 , the bill processing device 10 is provided with the cash inlet shutter 13 , the cash outlet shutter 19 , the transport unit 24 , the display unit 40 , a manipulation unit 42 , a control unit 70 , a memory unit 80 , and a sensing unit 82 . The cash inlet shutter 13 , the cash outlet shutter 19 , the transport unit 24 , the display unit 40 , and the manipulation unit 42 are as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 .

The control unit 70 controls overall operations of the bill processing device 10 . For example, the control unit 70 controls the basic processes such as the deposit process, the withdrawal process, the replenishment process, and the collection process described above according to manipulations of a staff using the manipulation unit 42 . Specifically, the control unit 70 controls the transport of bills by the transport unit 24 and the opening and closing operations of the cash inlet shutter 13 and the cash outlet shutter 19 for the execution of the basic processes. In addition, the control unit 70 controls a display of various screens to cause the various screens to be displayed on the display unit 40 . For example, the control unit 70 controls display of selection screens (a deposit method setting screen and a deposit selection screen) for selecting a normal deposit in which an input of bills is performed once in one transaction (a first deposit method) or a mass deposit in which inputs of bills are performed over a plurality of times in one transaction (a second deposit method) (details of the methods will be described later). Then, the control unit 70 controls the deposit process according to a deposit method selected on the selection screen.

The memory unit 80 memorizes a program and the like by which the bill processing device 10 is operated. In addition, the memory unit 80 can memorize discrimination results of the bill recognition unit 20 .

The sensing unit 82 has, for example, an optical sensor and the like to sense various states. For example, the sensing unit 82 detects accumulation states of bills of the cash inlet 12 and the cash outlet 18 (the number of accumulated bills and whether or not a bill has been taken out). In addition, the sensing unit 82 can sense transport states of bills, ejection of bills from the bill cassettes 30 , and the like.

Note that the functions of the control unit 70 and the memory unit 80 described above may be realized as a hardware configuration constituted by a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), and the like. The CPU has an arithmetic operation function and a control function, and controls overall operations of the bill processing device 10 according to various programs. The ROM memorizes a program used by the CPU, arithmetic operation parameters, and the like. The RAM temporarily memorizes a program used in execution of the CPU, parameters that appropriately change in the execution, and the like.

The bill processing device 10 described above can perform a variety of operations based on the control of the control unit 70 . A plurality of operations that can be executed by the bill processing device 10 will be sequentially described below in detail.

<3. First Operation>

In a first operation, the control unit 70 controls the display of the deposit method setting screen prior to a deposit process, and when a normal deposit is selected, the cash inlet shutter 13 is not opened after a deposited bill is transported to the temporary reserving unit 22 , and when a mass deposit is selected, the cash inlet shutter 13 is opened after deposited bills are transported to the temporary reserving unit 22 . According to this configuration, when the normal deposit is selected, i.e., when no additional input of bills is performed, the cash inlet shutter 13 is not opened, which can prevent a foreign substance from being introduced into the cash inlet 12 . On the other hand, when the mass deposit is selected, additional input of bills into the cash inlet 12 can be performed in parallel with a storing process due to the opening of the cash inlet shutter 13 , and therefore, efficiency in the deposit process can be attained. The first operation will be described below in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7 .

(Normal Deposit)

FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram showing an operation example of a normal deposit. As shown in FIG. 4 , first, the display unit 40 displays the deposit method setting screen based on the display control of the control unit 70 (S 102 and S 104 ). The deposit method setting screen includes, for example, a normal deposit selection button 51 , a mass deposit selection button 52 , an OK button 53 , and a cancel button 54 as shown in FIG. 5 . When the OK button 53 is selected in a state in which the normal deposit selection button 51 is selected, a deposit method is set to normal deposit, and when the OK button 53 is selected in a state in which the mass deposit selection button 52 is selected, the deposit method is set to mass deposit. When the cancel button 54 is selected, current settings are maintained. Here, description will be continued on the assumption that a staff selects the normal deposit selection button 51 (S 106 ) as shown in FIG. 4 and thus the deposit method is set to normal deposit.

When a staff selects a deposit method, the control unit 70 instructs to open the cash inlet shutter 13 (S 108 ), then the cash inlet shutter 13 is opened based on the instruction (S 110 ), and a notification of a shutter opening completion is output to the control unit 70 (S 116 ). In addition, the display unit 40 displays a bill input inducing screen to induce an input of bills by the staff based on the display control of the control unit 70 (S 112 and S 114 ).

Thereafter, when the staff inputs bills into the cash inlet 12 (S 118 ), the sensing unit 82 notifies the control unit 70 of a sensing of the input of the bills (S 120 ). The control unit 70 receives the notification and instructs to close the cash inlet shutter 13 (S 122 ), then the cash inlet shutter 13 is closed based on the instruction (S 124 ), and then a notification of a shutter closing completion is output to the control unit 70 (S 126 ).

Next, the control unit 70 instructs the transport unit 24 to perform a counting process of the deposited bills (S 128 ), and the transport unit 24 starts the counting process based on the instruction (S 130 ). Through this counting process, the bills input into the cash inlet 12 are transported to the temporary reserving unit 22 . In addition, the display unit 40 displays a deposit counting waiting screen indicating that the counting process of the deposited bills is being performed based on the display control of the control unit 70 (S 132 and S 134 ). Then, the transport unit 24 outputs a notification of a counting end to the control unit 70 when the counting process ends (S 136 ).

Next, the display unit 40 displays a deposit information screen that includes the number of bills obtained in the counting process based on the display control of the control unit 70 (S 138 and S 140 ). Thereafter, the control unit 70 instructs the transport unit 24 to perform a storing process of bills (S 142 ), and the transport unit 24 starts the storing process based on the instruction (S 144 ). In addition, the display unit 40 displays a storage waiting screen indicating that the deposited bills are undergoing the storing process based on the display control of the control unit 70 (S 146 and S 148 ). Then, the transport unit 24 outputs a notification of a storage end to the control unit 70 when the storing process ends (S 150 ). Thereafter, the display unit 40 displays a deposit completion screen indicating the completion of the deposit process based on the display control of the control unit 70 (S 154 ), and thereby the normal deposit ends.

In the first operation, a staff can select a deposit method through the display of the deposit method setting screen as described above. In addition, in the normal deposit, the cash inlet shutter 13 is not opened and its closed state is maintained after the counting process ends. For this reason, when the number of bills to be deposited is equal to or fewer than the number of bills that can be input at one time, the staff selects the normal deposit on the deposit method setting screen to maintain the closing of the cash inlet shutter 13 after the counting process, which can prevent a foreign substance from being introduced into the cash inlet 12 .

(Mass Deposit)

FIGS. 6 and 7 are illustrative diagrams showing an operation example of a mass deposit. As shown in FIG. 6 , first, the display unit 40 displays the deposit method setting screen based on the display control of the control unit 70 (S 102 and S 104 ). Here, description will be continued on the assumption that a staff selects the mass deposit selection button 52 on the deposit method setting screen (S 107 ), and thereby the deposit method is set to mass deposit as shown in FIG. 6 . Note that, since the processes of S 108 to S 140 of the mass deposit are the same as the processes of S 108 to S 140 of the normal deposit, detailed description will be omitted here.

After causing the display unit 40 to display the deposit information screen in S 140 , the control unit 70 instructs to open the cash inlet shutter 13 (S 156 ), then the cash inlet shutter 13 is opened based on the instruction (S 158 ), and a notification of a shutter opening completion is output to the control unit 70 (S 160 ). Furthermore, the control unit 70 instructs the transport unit 24 to perform a storing process of bills (S 162 ), and the transport unit 24 starts the storing process based on the instruction (S 164 ). In addition, the display unit 40 displays an input inducing/storage waiting screen indicating that the deposited bills are undergoing the storing process and inducing the staff to input bills based on the display control of the control unit 70 (S 166 and S 168 ).

Thereafter, the staff additionally inputs bills into the cash inlet 12 (S 202 ) as shown in FIG. 7 . Then, the transport unit 24 outputs a notification of a storage end to the control unit 70 when the storing process ends (S 204 ). Upon receiving the notification of storage end, the control unit 70 outputs a request for checking whether or not there is a remaining bill in the cash inlet 12 to the sensing unit 82 (S 206 ), and the sensing unit 82 notifies the control unit 70 about the fact that there is a bill (S 208 ).

Then, the control unit 70 instructs to close the cash inlet shutter 13 (S 210 ), then the cash inlet shutter 13 is closed based on the instruction (S 212 ), and a notification of a shutter closing completion is output to the control unit 70 (S 214 ).

The description continues in the full USPTO document.